The crack of the bat and Ks used to signal celebration or disappointment, but now it leads to death threats. In recent years, MLB has unlocked a new ugly side—gambling. Ask any player about it, and you’ll hear the same disturbing reality. Even if they deliver impressive play, someone will chime in from their mobile screens or from stands, giving threats, vile comments, and surprisingly, it’s not just limited to them; these ‘fans’ go as far as to target the players’ family members. A Dominican star, known for teasing the Dodgers’ notions, has voiced his concerns about the effects such vile comments have on the players as well as their loved ones.

Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres shortstop with a .268 average and 17 homers who remains the Dodgers’ nightmare, faces threats far worse than any curveball.

As per the recent reports shared by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tatis Jr. doesn’t mince words about the reality he faces daily. “You really don’t try to pay attention to it.” He went on, “But at the same time, in the back of your head, you’re like, ‘Wow. People are really wishing death to yourself and to your family.’ And it’s pretty (messed) up. It’s not fun. It’s not fun at all.” Getting criticized for bad play is one thing, but getting threats just because the game didn’t go as per their betting is really a messed-up thing to do.

Well, it all started when the U.S. Supreme Court threw down PASPA in May 2018, making it permissible for states to make sports betting legal. The industry has grown so much that it made around $148 billion in 2024. This has led unprecedented increase in online harassment towards the players and their families, if the ‘betters’ lose their money due to the outcome of the game. People who bet on sports hold athletes emotionally responsible for the outcomes, which is a bad situation that MLB is dealing with.

And Tatis Jr. isn’t the only one in the crosshairs. Jackson Merrill has also gone through similar experiences. Sharing his own experience, he said, “These people don’t know who I am.” “(They) might see me as a baseball player who ruined (their) parlay.” And also highlighted no matter if he’s stolen a home run or not, someone is saying, “(Eff) you! You ruined my parlay!” He gets right to the point: “It doesn’t even matter if you do good or bad… People are going to be mad at you.” And when asked if most of the hate is because of gambling? “100%,” he says without a second thought.

Clearly, the gambling issue and threats have escalated significantly, affecting not only Padres players but also others. Now they, rightly, want MLB to take some action on it.

MLB’s new opponent—Gambling-driven abuse: Players and families push for real protection

People thought that gambling on sports would make MLB more fun. Instead, it has been a nightmare for players and their families. Kristina Johnson, wife of the former Padres pitcher Pierce Johnson, knows this all too well. “The messages have gotten worse with sports betting,” she remarked. “But I’ve never had a (Braves) fan message me. It’s always been some sort of bookie or just a random guy placing bets.”

Pierce got a message last year that was so scary that it was sent to MLB, which cooperated with the police to find out who sent it. The Johnsons, on the other hand, didn’t want to press charges because they were afraid that doing so would make private information public and put their family’s safety at risk.

Players know that betting makes money, but where is the line? “Man, I would say (gambling) is a sin, right?” Manny Machado stated. “It’s not a healthy thing to do. But it just is what it is. Yeah, we see it. I think it’s getting out of hand with everyone. ‘MLB, I hope they can figure it out and put some security with it. Because you’re gonna allow this, right? It’s bringing a lot of money to the game. But at the same time, how about the players?”

Lucas Giolito brought the matter up directly with Commissioner Manfred. He said, “I asked him about something that has been on my mind this year that’s been a little worrisome for me with the rise of sports betting — the access that exists now with social media and everything.” He stated, “When it comes to the gambling, it obviously has created an uptick in insane people online — well, not insane, just disgruntled.” He also said that even his partner has gotten “a lot of nasty s—“ from angry gamblers.

Adam phrased it simply and humanely: “I think the more people talk about it and the more people realize that it’s not OK, it should help slow it down.” “I don’t know what baseball could do.… (People are) just being mean. That’s kind of their freedom to do that, which s—s.… It’s a reminder that yes, we have an awesome job… but we’re also humans. It’s easy to dehumanize athletes, but at the end of the day, we’re just humans trying to do a good job at our job. And every once in a while, we’ll stink .”

And it’s not like that MLB isn’t aware of this. Manfred acknowledged it in 2024, “If a player receives a threat from any source, on any topic, it is a matter of concern to us that we take really seriously,” but there has been no formal ruling made yet to stop this nonsense.